Quit - Not Travelling

Ooty

2011-10-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to Ooty on our first Wedding anniversary.

Itinerary

From Bangalore to Ooty
1. Leave Bangalore on 30th June night by Train no. 12257 from Banaswadi Railway Station to Coimbatore.
2. Take train no. 12671 (NilGiri Express) from Coimbatore to Mettupalayam.
3. Take train no. 56136 from Mettupalayam to Udhagamandalam.

From Ooty to Bangalore also we booked via train. But after reaching Ooty we cancelled train bookings and booked KSRTC Volvo direct from Ooty to Bangalore. Reason? Train takes too much of time (around 6 hours by Nilgiri Mountain Railway, 1 hour from Mettupalayam to Coimbatore, 5 hours from Coimbatore to Bangalore). Bus took 8 hours from Ooty to Bangalore.

Starting from Bangalore

We boarded the train from Banaswadi Railway Station. It was a Garib Rath express. I was travelling in it for the first time. The train condition was exactly as the reviews being given from my friends and relatives. There was almost no space inside. Even on sides, there were three births. It is really hard to find a place where you want to look inside the train without looking at somebody else. The bedding was also a big pain. There was a long queue with a charge of Rs 25/- each. Everybody wanted to go to sleep before others. Many of the passengers were proud to break the queue and come in front. Somehow I got hold of two bedding and we got some sleep.

We reached Coimbatore around 0330 hours. The next train was around 0430 hours. Generally, it is not hard to kill time at Indian Railway Stations. One observation that we had about the Coimbatore Railway station is that it is probably the cleanest Railway station that I have seen in India.

Moving on, the Nilgiri Express arrived on time and we reached Mettupalayam on time.

Review of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway

One side of the platform has broad gauge line for the Nilgiri Express. On the other side, Nilgiri Mountain Railway was greeting us on the narrow gauge. There were just four coaches in it. Some of them were unreserved, which I would say is not a great place to travel. The journey is around 7 hours and one needs enough place to sit and relax. In the second class coaches 6 or 7 people were sitting on the seat which was meant for just 4. I accept that the ticket just cost Rs 25/- which is very less as compared to Rs 130/- for first class ticket. But if you want to enjoy this journey, go only via first class. Not only seating, the first class cabin is the very beginning of the train. We got some extra scenic views. Also, it is farthest from the engine. That means less noise, less heat and less smoke.

The train truly gives a feeling of very old times. The steam engine looks mesmerizing and we spent lot of time looking at it closely. It is hard to find such thing in working condition these days. The engine was at the rear and instead of pulling, it was pushing the train. The engine works on rack and pinion system which is not very comfortable to travel with. But this journey is not for comfort but to travel in a century old railway system which is now a UNESCO world heritage site.

The engine stops at each station to re-fill its water tanks. After all, steam is what propels it further.

The train takes much longer to reach ooty as compared to a car or a bus. For us, it started at 0715 hours and reached ooty at 1500 hours. The steam engine is really slow. At Connor, steam engine is replaced by a diesel engine, which is fast. Also, remain seated for this long time is uncomfortable. However, these minor problems are out shadowed by the other factors:

1. Travelling with a steam engine propelled train is definitely a rare thing and a good experience.
2. The scenic valley views are amazing. Specially the tea gardens. Most of the tea garden are before Connon. Most of the people travel in the train between Ooty and Connon just for the sake of it. The hills between these two places is filled with concrete and people think that the Nilgiri Mountain Railway is over hyped. I would say that it is under hyped but you need to be on train between Mettupalayam and Connor. The most scenic tea gardens that we saw were from this train. The Railway stations itself were very scenic. The whole train signaling system, the rail change system, the braking system, etc is a must watch.
3. The tunnel experience is wonderful.
4. At one point the train goes under a cliff which looks as if it is about to fall.

Bike hire at Ooty

We got down at Udhagamandalam and planned to hire a motor cycle. There is shop near alankar theatre, called RCM rentals, which rents out bikes. We hired a Hiro Honda Hunk for Rs 400 per day. The bike was not available at the time. So the owner offered us to deliver the bike at the hotel. The name of the owner is Saravanan and his contact number is +91-9942932030.

Stay at Ooty
We stayed at i-India. The reason for choosing this place was the tripadvisor rating and the reasonable cost. The place is good but not great. Why am I saying that? Lets check out:

Whats good

1. The amazing view of the Ketti Valley. One can spend hours looking at the valley and the distant mountains.

2. Cleanliness

3. Friendly staff and the owner (Sabi Raj)

4. The interiors. There are so many beautiful pictures around. The choice of furniture in the living place is also good.

What not so good
1. For all three days, there was shortage of hot water. They have a solar water heater. But during Monsoon, there was not enough sun light.
2. There is no TV in side rooms. There is a just one TV in the living room.
3. One has to pre-order breakfast/lunch/dinner. If not, you may have to starve. We reached there around 5 in the evening and asked for some soup but there was nothing available. We even got denial if we purchase some knor soup and cook on our own.
4. The rooms are good but I expect to have a open window towards valley. The windows were opening inside some other common room. So we had to keep them close all the time.
5. The rooms were little bit suffocating. There was no opening for air ventilation.

Places we visited
The Dodabetta peak

A good uphill ride was needed to reach this place. It gave a nice view of the complete regions. However, there was too much of crowd and we spent hardly 10 minutes here.

Pykara

A nice lake and boating point. Nothing special as such but makes sense for a visit if you are in ooty. They have speed boats available with them just to have some adventure kind of experience.

The emerald dam

Now this was the place. The route to reach here itself was amazing and no less than those shooting locations of Switzerland. The road to this place hardly has any traffic. It was very peaceful. Looks like this is one of those undiscovered places by the tourists. We spotted the Emerald dam from the road but we wanted to go to the dam. We had no idea od the router. We had GPS with us but google maps does not even has this lake. Moreover, we were not able to understand local language. Just was guessing, we took a mud road thinking that this would take us to dam but soon we hit a dead end. Anyways, this gave us good chance to walk through the hilly farms to reach the lake. There is access to go the bank also. Overall, this was the best of all placed that we visited at ooty.

The market
The market is ooty is just like any other small town. However, it is worth a walk for shopping of Ooty chocolates, Nilgiri tea, honey, etc. We heard lot about ooty chocolates. We went to King’s star, which is known to be good. Frankly, better chocolates are available at Bangalore.

The Taj Savoy Hotel
We went to The Taj Savoy hotel for candle lit dinner. The arranged a private sit out place, along with camp fire, music, lighting and decoration. The overall arrangement was apt. The food was delicious.

Trek to KuntiBetta

2010-09-18T22:41:00.004-07:00

Date: Sept 11, 2010

Origin: Bangalore

Mode of Travel: Bus

Group: Dimple, Rahul and I. Total 16.

The Route: Follow Mysore Road(SH-17) from Bangalore. Cross Mandya ( the sugarcane capital of Karnataka) and turn right for Pandavapura. Before the town, there is a right turn (GPS: 12.4976507, 76.6936684) and have sign boards in Kannada.The way is full of magnificent view with sugarcane fields all around, lots of greenery and raw sugarcane mills.

The Trek: The trek till top takes around 2 to 3 hours with 5 KMs en route, filled with lots of rocks. We went with the BMC (http://bmcindia.org/). Nandish was the lead and was very helpful in guiding and pulling people up the rocks. We had breakfast on the way and packed our lunch at Pandavapura.We started with a formal introduction of the entire group and headed towards top.Thanks to weather god, it was neither raining nor shining. The rocks were wet at quite a few places but overall it was all right. Nandish lead the way and we all followed him. I must say the team was pretty good; even though some people were doing trekking for the first time including Rahul. There were only two points which were difficult in the complete trekking;where the rocks were really very steep and the passage was very narrow.It was a nice teamwork and each one of us helped others in getting through. Finally,after 2 hours of trekking we reached on top; and must say the view was really awesome from there;"nature's beauty at the best". It was such a nice feeling after reaching on top. We actually were late and other people in the group had already reached on top. We took a few photographs after which we had our pre-packed lunch. The team had geared up some energy by then; after having lunch; jokes and photograph session.We all shared a nice time together on top and then started moving down. We took another way this time, and reached at the bottom. After coming down, we all took some rest. There were a few villagers; who had come along with their flock of sheep. They were really very nice and brought one cute lamb to us. It was really very cute; but it was scared of us.We got an opportunity to have a photo with it. We were all dying to see the lake; and we all took our life-jackets and headed towards the lake. The way was really difficult;as all the plants had grown due to rainy season.It was more difficult than trekking. Somehow we managed through the way and reached to the lake bed. We changed and moved into the water;the lake bed was really slippery, filled with algae and mud. The water was relaxing and all the tiredness after being in water for sometime went off completely. The entire group didn't participate;they were only spectators and enjoying outside. We didn't go further in the lake rather we were on the bed side; as Nandish suggested no to do so. After sometime,we all came out of water and drove back towards Bangalore.We stopped at Tea-point and had tea,coffee along with masala puri. We exchanged our mail id's and started back towards Bangalore.Nandish took off from us at this point as he had to go for another trip. While coming back we again had an adventurous trip as the driver was feeling sleepy, it was raining and moreover he was doing a rash driving. Finally, one after the other people left the cab and we returned back to our starting point (PIZZA HUT,OLD AIRPORT ROAD) after a marvelous trip !!!!!

Guide to New Zealand travel

2010-09-18T22:41:00.003-07:00

Dimple and I chose New Zealand for our Honeymoon. It took a lot of time to zero down the place. We started from Mauritius. But all it offers is beach, which is good but not great (my personal opinion). We thought about Europe but during summersit did not interest us much. Dimple wanted to go to a place where we have snow.We also did some research on Scotland, Canada and Italy. But Europe and NorthAmerica are the places where one can get chances to visit due to business. Sowe decided to keep these destinations for some other time in life. Finally wedecided to go to New Zealand. I anyway had a long time dream to visit the landof the Lord of the rings.

Visa

Aftercompleting the documentation, we went to TT Services, Bangalore. The contactand other details are mentioned on the New Zealand high commission website. Thelady, at the reception, checked all the docs and gave us a receipt. But shetold that for a single Indian (we weren't married that time), who hasn'ttraveled to US, UK, Canada or Australia, getting a NZ visitor visa is tough.This was a big concern because we did not want to have a reject stamp on ourpassports. Moreover, we were already very late for visa applications due to mySpain trip. If the Visa was rejected, the time that we had was so less that itwas impossible for us to apply for some other country Visa. So, we decided tosend a mail to the NZ embassy at New Delhi and mentioned that we were gettingmarried and planning our Honeymoon at the Land of the Lord of the rings. Wementioned to either grant visa to both of us or withdraw the applications.

The Doubtful Sound. Serenity was everywhere.

Toour surprise, this worked and we got our visa exactly in 5 calendar days.Generally, for any kind of issues, writing email directly to the Embassy is thebest option. Also, we would recommend carrying out the application process onyour own. I talked to an agent who was asking INR 5000/- which means INR 800/-per person as commission. This is not at all a good value for money. Thedocuments you have to provide on your own in either cases. Once docs are ready,just go to TT services and submit them. It hardly takes 15 minutes. After thatyou just need to wait for 1 week.

Queenstown

AirTickets

Iwas searching all the sites 5 times a day to find the best deal. Internationalsites like expedia were quoting high. Makemytrip.com and yatra.com were givinglowest prices. Finally, I was able to get return ticket from Thai Airways atINR 47,000/- per person. During that time, Thailand was recovering from somekind of political crisis. May be that was the reason that the Thai Airwaysoffered lower prices from others. We had to change flights at Bangkok. Whilegoing, the transit time was 90 minutes. While returning, transit time was 10hours. Also, while returning, we got a free upgrade to business class. It wasnice to fly with Thai. They have quite good hospitality.

Thai Airways

Note: If you are Veg, do not forget to order meals in advance. Dimple had tosatisfy her hunger just by rice, bread, nuts and juice.

Commuting

Self Driving is best choice in New Zealand. We had thefreedom to stop at places as frequent as we wanted. I wouldn't suggest losingfreedom to a Bus driver who stops only at the places of his choice andcommitted to take you to your destination at hard limit. There were so manybeautiful spots on the road side. Few of our most memorable pics are from thesespots. There are hardly people on the roads (especially on the South Island) sodriving is not an issue if speed is under limit. Speed limit is 50 Kmph incities and 100 Kmph on highways. There are speed boards at exceptions. Makesure to follow the limits. We noticed many drivers getting tickets from copsfor over speeding.

It was hard to find people on the roads. Driving at 100 KMPH, another car may pass may be in 15 minutes. Feels like we were owning the roads

This was first time for me to drive in a foreignnation. I was little bit conscious. Due to that, I read the GPS wrongly anddrove to the domestic terminal instead of the exit from the Auckland airportpremises. Right at that time we noticed a strange sound from the car. The firstthought came to mind was that something is wrong with the car but then Irealized that the rear wiper was on. The indicator was on left side of thesteering wheel so the arrangement was different for me (typical Ford thing). Ittook me to stop at a parking to figure out and stop the wiper.

Learning: Do not forget to ask for car that suits your style. Tell the carcompanies which side you prefer indicators.

Post that the drive was smooth and very comfortable.

Road to Milford Sound

For, activities within or from a city, shuttle services are available from theoperator itself. For example, we got the informative bus ride from the ShotoverJet team.

We hired car from YourWay Car rental (http://www.yourwaycarrental.co.nz/). Ithas cheap rates and good service.

In North Island, we hired Red colored Ford Fiesta (Hatchback). For four days,we paid NZD 168/-. This included no excess insurance which reduces the excessamount to NZD 300/.

In South Island, we hired white colored, automatic Toyota Corolla. For 8 days,we paid NZD 410/-. This included, snow chains, Airport Parking ticket and dailyno excess insurance.
At Auckland, their office is at 15 minutes walk from Airport. So we parked thecar at their parking and saved NZD 15/- for the Airport parking charge. AtChristchurch, their office is far off from Airport so this wasn’t possible.

Do not forget to take multiple photographs of the car from all the angles whiledropping off. The car rental company picks up the car after you leave theplace. However, they still have your credit card commitment. If they charge youwrongly, photographs are proof in case of conflict.

Car rental companies also provide a discount voucher booklet. They also providediscount when you hire from them next time. We missed that. Otherwise we couldhave save many dollars while renting the car from them at South Island.

We did shopping from freshchoice supermarket and got some discount on fuel.Keep an eye on such discounts.

Some portions were straight line for as long as 50 KMs. Perfect roads for cruise drive and enjoy the surrounding

For directions, I was using my Nokia E63 phone. It has gotMgMaps(http://www.mgmaps.com/) installed on it. I already downloaded whole ofthe New Zealand maps in my phone. A separate Holux device was acting as GPS andcommunication to the phone via Bluetooth. The solution worked great for us. Wewere able to find few short cuts and also some inside roads which are veryscenic. Car rental companies also provide GPS for few dollars per day.

The Break point on the road to Milford Sound

Food

Weare vegetarians. From supermarkets, we purchased lot of stuff like wheat bread,cheese, Jam, Fruits, etc. Corn or wheat flakes along with milk was goodbreakfast. For lunch, we used wheat bread along with jam or cheese, subway sandwiches,MacD sandwich, etc. For dinner, we cooked at most of the places. Processednoodles and rice were available at supermarkets, which just need two minutesunder a microwave. At Rotorua and Queenstown, we found Indian Takeaway whichoffered a curry for 10-13 NZD along with rice. This was more than enough fortwo people. We ate just once in a restaurant which cost us NZD 52/-. However,that meal was actually for 4 people. In all, keeping food expenses at NZD 35per person per day is reasonable estimate. This includes bottled water and 2-3coffee per day.

Right opposite to the Auckland Airport there was Countdown Supermarket. We purchased lot of things to eat

Make sure to check the rates before billing anything and DO NOT assumeanything. The same brand bottled water was NZD 5 at Auckland. At Christchurch,I saw the same brand and picked it up. I was shocked when it was billed at NZD13. So keep your eyes open all the time.

No problems for people who are Vegetarian since there are lots of optionsavailable. During flight, Veg meal needs to be pre-ordered otherwise have tostarve. In NZ there is no such problem as there are a couple of Veggie optionsat Subway, Dominos, and Burger King. We stayed in motels, B&B which wereequipped with microwave and stove, where we could cook things like Soup,Maggie, Pasta, Bread toast, tea and coffee.

Yummy!!! Breakfast at Waitomo

Accommodation

Prefermotels, cottages or B & B rather than hotels. Hotels are for Businesstrips, I guess. Motels are cheap and more equipped. They have kitchen facility,laundry, etc. Farm stay is also a very good option. Searching online, we foundfew and expensive Farm stays. While driving, we noticed multiple farm stays andB & B at the most scenic locations. These stays are little bit far off fromthe main cities. But these are very good option and one may not even need tobook in advance. Just drive and if you see signboard for a stay, look aroundand if you like the surroundings, just drive in. Booking in advance is no doubtthe most hassle free option. This also provides the option of rate negotiation.I was able to get discount of NZD 10 at few places.

Most of the places, we payed around NZD 100/- to NZD 150/- per night. I am amember of Accor Group and got some discount from them. Also, I had vouchers forNZD 180/-, which bought us a luxury suite at Hotel Novotel Christchurch for ourlast night at New Zealand.

To book hotels, look for the rating on Tripadvisor.com.

Following is the list of hotels we stayed and associated charges:
Rotorua: Ibis Rotorua :

NZD 77/- per night. I got this very cheap due to Accormembership. If not, do not hesitate to look out for other locations.
Read more at my review at TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255111-d595461-r72342049-Ibis_Rotorua-Rotorua_Rotorua_District_North_Island.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

Waitomo: Waitomo Caves Guest Lodge :

NZD 120/- per night including breakfast.Look for no other place at Waitomo. Highly recommended.
Read more at my review at TripAdvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g616349-d609468-r72342491-Waitomo_Caves_Guest_Lodge-Waitomo_Caves_North_Island.html

Waitomo Glow worm caves guest lodge: The couple who runs the place

Auckland: Mercure Hotel Windsor Auckland : NZD 110/-.
Read more at my review at TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255106-d256711-r72343101-Mercure_Hotel_Windsor_Auckland-Auckland_Central_North_Island.html

We stayed at The Mercure Windsor, Wuckland

Queenstown: Bella Vista Motel : NZD 140/- per night for a spa bath ensuitoption.
Read more at my review at TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255122-d281038-r72343401-Bella_Vista_Motel-Queenstown_South_Island.html

Te anau: Birchwood Cottages : NZD 99/- per night. Look nowhere else. This isamazing place to stay at Te anau.
Read more at my review at TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255124-d644491-r72343740-Birchwood_Cottages-Te_Anau_South_Island.html

Lake Tekapo: The Challet : NZD 160/- per night. This place has the perfectlocation.
Read more at my review at TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g644415-d550416-r72344387-The_Chalet_Boutique_Motel-Lake_Tekapo_Canterbury_South_Island.html

The Hotel at Tekapo. It was right opposite to the Lake

Christchurch: Hotel Novotel Cathedral : NZD 200/- per night. I encashed myvouchers here.
Read more at my review at TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255118-d501132-r72344767-Novotel_Christchurch-Christchurch_Canterbury_South_Island.html

Activities

Dosome online research and develop some initial idea what you want to do. NZ hasalmost everything and anything to do. Every city or town or village of NZ hasits own website which provides all the info. The same activity may costdifferent at different places. Queenstown is expensive because of a big touristdestination. That is why we chose Lake Taupo for sky diving. If time permits 10things to do then make a list of 20. Send out the mail and ask for thediscounts. Some places offer an online discount. If no discount is providedthen do NOT book in advance. There is a reason for not doing advance booking.At Auckland and Christchurch airports, there are magazines like Arrival, Diningguide, Jason's guide etc. These have discount vouchers for almost everything.We found lots of these at Auckland airport and less at Christchurch airport. Ifyou are two people then collect two copies so as to have two discount vouchers.These magazines are absolutely free. Similar vouchers are also availablesometimes at super markets.
The whole idea is to collect anything that is available for free and look outfor offers before spending anywhere.

Things we did:

Rotorua: HellsGate Mud Bath and Sulphur SPA.
My Review at TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255111-d300535-r81467435-Hells_Gate_Wai_Ora_Spa-Rotorua_Rotorua_District_North_Island.html

The steam is coming out of the natural Geysers

Rotorua : Waimangu Volcanic Valley
Read my review at TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255111-d258117-r81466630-Waimangu_Volcanic_Valley-Rotorua_Rotorua_District_North_Island.html

The picture says it...

Lake Taupo : Tandem Skydive
Read my review at tripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255113-d1553885-r72673802-Taupo_Tandem_Skydiving-Taupo_North_Island.html

Just before falling from Sky

15, 000 feet above Lake Taupo

Damn...it looks amazing from top

Waitomo: Black water rafting at Waitomo Caves

Waitomo Black Water Rafting by The legendary Black Water Rafting company

All of us were excited after gearing up and ready to jump in the river

Practice sessions before jumping in the Caves

Fun session before the black water Rafting

6 feet jump on the freezing water

Queenstown: Shotover Jet boat ride
Read my review at tripadvisor:http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255122-d653947-r72369297-Shotover_Jet-Queenstown_South_Island.html

The Shotover ...

The Shotover Jet

That was thrill

That was a 360 spin

They will take the boat towards the cliff and avoid it only at last moment to multiply the thrill

Queenstown: Skyline Gondola and luge.
Read my review at tripadvisor:http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g255122-d301483-r72369550-Skyline_Gondola_and_Luge-Queenstown_South_Island.html

Luge at Queenstown

Lake Wakatipu in background with Luge on hill top

The Gondula at Queenstown

All these activities are must do (if your choice matches) and value for money.

Directions

Ihave MGMaps installed on my Nokia E63 mobile phone. Google maps were having allthe details that I wanted. Car rental companies also rent GPS.

Evening Supper

Currency

Igot the NZ Dollars from Brigade road, Bangalore. The deal was very good withjust 30 cents as commission per dollar. The famous stores like Thomas Cook andthe stores at the Airports and Hotels are very expensive. I paid around 10% ascommission for INR to EURO and EURO to NZD conversion at Airport. Rule of thumbis to carry the currency before travelling and not to buy from Airport andHotels. Credit Card is accepted everywhere at NZ. Car rental companies andHotels may block big amount on the card which is released later. Due to thisreason, carry multiple cards. Also, compare the credit card companies for theconversion charge they have. Use the card with the minimum of such and hiddencharges.

Whatto carry

Duringwinters (July being peak winters in NZ) , the temperature is very low and it isadvisable to carry extra warm clothes, pair of jeans, overcoats, jackets,gloves, warm caps, skivvies, thermo coat, mufflers, woolen socks and good highankle shoes to keep yourselves warm. No need of carrying the food items sinceAuckland airport authorities won’t allow and you would need to go for an extrascreening from Bio Metric division. Carry a good camera as NZ is very beautifuland scenic; can say photographers’ dream destination. Carrying a GPS device isreally helpful, for the people planning to have a self drive. Good moisturizer isreally required as cool breeze will make your skin dry.

Immigration process at Auckland was very straight forward but they have a biosecurity section also. There is a question form that we filled. Based on that,we had to wait in a long queue. The officers were very strict but friendly. Wewere wearing new hiking shoes. Even then I was asked to clean the sole in somekind of solution. The officer took away Dimple's shoes and came back after fiveminutes after a green signal. We were carrying 1 KG of almonds and cashews,which was allowed.

Goodtime to go

Wewent there during winters. We were told that NZ is more fun in summers or maybe during springs. I would say, anytime is a good time. All weathers havesomething different to offer.

Itinerary

July 6

Departure from Jaipur late night To Delhi via MandorExpress.

Delhi Airport

July 7

De-board at Delhi Cantt. railway station and reached airport via Auto.
Thai Airways flight to Bangkok and then to Auckland with transit time of 90mins.

Bangkok Airport

July 8

Reached Auckland around noon, hired car and drove to Rotorua.
We reached Rotorua around 7 in the evening. The city roads were almost havingnobody. We stopped at Dominos. The lady over there is an Indian and had a vegpizza to offer us along with the punjabi touch. Dimple was happy to eat that.We got the directions to the hotel from another person at Dominos. The room wasgood enough to give us a comfortable sleep after long flight and drive.

Auckland Airport. They call it The City of Sails

July 9

Rotorua. Next morning(july 9), we got up quite late and it was already noon bythe time stepped out of hotel. After having a walk around the lake side andenjoying the beautiful view of a sunny winter day, we walked towards the citycenter. Most of the world class brands were there. Not sure how these storesgenerate profits out of this low population. We purchased a prepaid SIM fromvodafone and charged it for NZD 50/-, which was much more that we needed for 13days. Most of the local calls were toll free. NZD 20/- was enough for us.

5 in the morning from Ibis Rotorua

Post lunch we drove to the Waimangu Volcanic valley. The drive was amazing. Thewinter trees were giving contrasting colors under the sunlight and the bluesky. We reached Waimangu by 4 in the evening which was late for us to do anythingon that day. This was a disappointment for us but we recovered this by multiplestops at multiple scenic points along roadside. The road off from the main highwayis very scenic. It was the time of sunset also which gave us perfect time forphoto shots.

En route to Waimangu Volcanic Valley

The farm was patrolled by Wolfs, all I could do is to take a pic and move on

Drove to HellsGate and had Mud Bath and Sulphur SPA. This is a must do ifsomeone is around Rotorua.

Hells Gate Thermal Bath and Sulphur SPA.

July 10

Because of the last day’s disappointment, we reachedWaimangu Volcanic sharp at 9:30 AMwithout taking any chances.

The drive itself was amazing but the first look ofthe valley was signaling that there is definitely lots of excitement present onthe way. We took a walk tour of the valley. There were multiple craters andgeysers. Steam was coming out of the surface which was due to the water contactwith the hot volcanic surface. It gave a feeling of as if we were in a volcanicland and anytime anything can happen.

Waimangu Volcanic valley

Waimanu Volcanic valley

At one place there was signboard mentioningthat few tourists got killed due to sudden geyser eruption. Without waitingeven one more second, we proceeded further. The special attraction was theinferno crater which looks like a blue colored pond.

The inferno crater. They say that the water is acidic enough to melt your bones if you dare to touch the water

The blue color is due tothe low pH of 2. The look was breathtaking and created a paradox as if we areon this world or not.

Care to read it?

The last part of the Valley visit is the boat ride onLake Rotomahana. This lake is right in the middle of the active volcanic zone.The nature was at its best along with a hidden sign of power also. The sulphurfumes rising from banks, the multicolored rocks (due to metal ores) were something that we had never seen in ourlives. The Captain of the boat was himself, a very knowledgeable person and wasbriefing us all the time to make the ride more interesting. He took the boat toa water filled crater which witnessed a volcanic eruption sometime in 1930s andthe heat generated was so much the whole lake got dried up in few seconds.After a circle of the lake, the boat came back and the bust took us to thestart point of the Valley.

Sulphur fumes from the active volcano

The boat tour on Lake Rotomahana

The Tourists

The crater at Lake Rotomahana. In 1960, this crater became active generating heat enough to dry up the whole lake

Lake Rotomahana

The surface got multicolored due to metal ores

We had coffee and turned the wheels of Red FordFiesta towards Lake Taupo.

Lake Okaro: It was just another but most beautiful lake on the road side. We halted for a break.

We took an inside route to reach Express Highway 5 via StateHighway 5. On route we passed Lake Okaro, which was probably the best locationof the New Zealand. The Lake had perfect colors which I had only seen movies.We had never seen such colors of nature before. There was no one around tillmiles, which anyway is the constant observation all round New Zealand.

Lake Okaro

We spendmemorable time and drove to Lake Taupo Airport.

The cloud line is the end of free fall

We chose Lake Taupo Tamdem sky diving company for Skydiving, which was no doubt the correct decision. Dimple was afraid to dive fromsky. Even I had doubts in my mind but did not express it on my face. But justwithin 5 minutes of entering the premises, all doubt very converted toconfidence. The lady at the reception explained us various options. Sheconvinced us to opt for 15000 feet instead of 12000 feet. The former one hasmore free fall time. Also, we hired a fellow diver who would make a video aswell as take some high quality photographs. We put on the Jump suits and theplane was ready to take us to the sky of Lake Taupo. The view was amazing andwe were sure that choosing Lake Taupo for sky diving was indeed the rightchoice. The guide explained us few basics and then just jumped out of theplane. I would say no more above the dive. The video has everything into it. Thiswas one of the unique experiences of life.

After the huge achievement of diving from the sky, we headedtowards the banks Lake Taupo for Lunch. It was another spectacular place tohang out.

Lake Taupo: After diving from sky and eating lunch

After having lunch, we headed towards Waitomo. It was already 5 whenwe started. Soon it was dark. The highway was right from the middle of densejungle and there was no one around. It was a scary drive. We waited for 5minutes at a place in between. Couldn’t notice even a single streak of lighttill horizon. Only Stars in the clear dark sky. Without taking any chancesfurther, we started and drive straight to Waitomo.

The couple at the Waitomo Caves Guest Lodge is very friendlyand helpful. They gave us an option to go a night walk of the caves or to jointhe whole town for a Rugby match. We were exhausted for either of these. Sojust cooked our dinner at the common kitchen, ate and slept.

July 11

Right before entering the earth. The entry to the cave is very small and it is hard to believe that we made it

Next morning we went to Black Water Rafting. This is the oneof its kind experience. At Waitomo, there are caves which have been made by theunderground rivers millions of years ago. People have found the entry and exitpoints and they take you to rafting through that river. The company name isLegendary Black Water Rafting Company. We reached there in our Car. Our Guidesbriefed us on all the basics and then asked us to choose diving suit of our ownsizes. The diving suit which was wet on a cold winter morning. It was thrilling. But I was actually waitingfor what I had seen in videos and pics. We got inside their van and they tookus to the river point. There we were gives tubes of proper sizes and alsomultiple jumps in the freezing river water. This was fun, but more of a prepfor the rafting.

Black Water rafting: Right inside the caves

Further, we did a walk for 15 minutes to the start point ofthe river. It was like a hole in the earth and there was no way that we couldhave entered that. We switched on the head lamps and slipped inside. Naturally,it was dark inside to see anything. When I moved my head to throw light around,it looked like a primitive place with stalactite and stalagmite around us. Wegot on top of our tubes and used our hands as raft. We had to be very carefulto not to hit hands our head with rocks. Multiple times the river was fallingdown. We had no way but to jump with that. It took a lot of courage to jump indark in water. But the guides were apt their jobs. There were glow worms atmany places. These are worms which lives in dark and needs humidity to grow.They emit light and gave a feeling of night with millions of stars. Overall, Itwas a terrific experience.

The Waitomo Caves

Inside the caves

After around2 hours, we came to point where we were able to see natural light. We walkedout of cave and took the van to get back to the office. After taking a showerwith hot water and changing, we were offered hot tomato soup which was verymuch needed.

Next was the tour of the Very famous Waitomo Glow wormcaves. As mentioned, these caves have been made millions of years ago by theunderground rivers. Now, it has taken shape of a marvelous structure. There wasa guide who explains all the details and takes to all the interesting points.At the end , there was a boat tour to see the glow worms. No photographs wereallowed because light seems to kill the worms. It was similar to a boat ride tothe heaven. But soon there was light from the earth and that was sign of theend of tour.

This was all for us at Waitomo and I turned the wheels ofthe car towards Auckland city. It was a three hour drive. The couple at theWaitomo Caves Guest Lodge told us a short cut. It made the drive 20 minutesshort. The drive back was very scenic. In fact, all the routes around NewZealand were amazing. Driving through the country is something which I willnever forget in this life time.

After reaching the city, I took the wrong cut out from thehighway. The hotel was on east and we were searching way on the west of thecity. No wonder, I even jumped a signal. Lucky me, just got away with a nastyhonk from a car coming from the other side. We circled around the city alongthe coast line to reach Hotel Mercure hotel at the city downtown. The hotel parking was NZD 24, which wasexpensive. We were lucky to find a public parking with NZD 6 per night. Weparked the car there and just took necessary items with us to hotel.

The Auckland Sky Tower

That night we spent many hours on Auckland streets. It was aSunday night. That means less traffic on roads. Took multiple pictures of the Sky tower and the surroundings.

Auckland downtown on Sunday night. The teens at the middle of the road were playing a game. The traffic stops for 20 seconds after each cycle. They were supposed to build something on the middle of the road.

July 12

It was an early morning flight from Auckland toChristchurch. We drove to Airport, left the car at the Rental’s car parking andwalked to the domestic terminal. It was just a 15 minutes walk. I forgot tolock the car before dropping the keys. I was worried because the Your Way carrental had blocked high amount on my credit card. But no extra amount was evercharged to me. That means the car went to right hands.

From Queenstown to Christchurch, around 5 in the evening

The flight was very scenic. Though, we had less sleep butthe view was enough to keep me awake. I was able to see both ends of the NewZealand. On one side there is Pacific Ocean and on other end, there is TasmanSea. The flight crossed snow capped mountains, beautiful forests, the sunrising sky, the sea between the north and the south island to reach the freezingmorning of Christchurch.

It was a cold morning (around -2 degree celcius). We walkedout of Airport and gave a call to the YourWay Car rental from my cell phone.They came in no more than 15 minutes to pick us up. They drove us to theirChristchurch office, which was not as close to the Airport as the office atAuckland. This made me clear that we must add package for leaving the car atAirport Parking. While booking I asked for Ford Focus but they offered me anautomatic white colored Toyota Corolla. Obviously, it was a pleasure to drivethis car. Because of the weather, I asked to add snow chains into the package.The lady handed over the key to us. The very first thing that I wanted to do isto get familiar with the car. I drove in a circle, checked all the functionbuttons, checked acceleration of the automatic Toyota engine and then stopped at arestaurant for Breakfast. We purchased some stuff from the near-by store.This was the place where we paid NZD23/- for 4 bottles of water. We noticed it only after billing. So nothing canbe done but to take a learning to check the prices before picking anything fromnow.

From Christchurch to Queenstown. This is the Toyota Corolla that we hired at Christchurch Airport

It was time to start for the much awaited drive of 500 KMsto Queenstown. Traffic was less on the roads and I was able to maintain aconstant speed of 100KMPH at most of the places. At one point, there was a jamdue to road accident. So we parked the car at a break point and enjoyed thesurroundings.

The sky was clear and blue, the grass was dried during the winters and there was no one around but the sheeps

As we were moving south, the lands were getting replaced byhills, farms were replaced by forests and people were replaced by sheep. Drivingin South Island is a dream for every car loving person in the world. There are nopeople around. It truly gives a feeling as if I am driving on the world which Iown. There are segments on roads without a bend for 50 KMs. At every turn thereis breath taking views and one can drive and look around simultaneously.However, it is better to keep an eye on sigh board because at mountain passthere was ice and grit on roads which may be risky.

From Christchurch to Queenstown

Around 300 KMs from Christchurch: There was now till horizons followed by snow capped mountains

I had heard a lot about Lake Tekapo. I must admit that allthat was no way even close to the beauty of the lake. We did not stop herebecause we had planned a full day here. Next to Lake Tekapo, it was time for usto please our eyes with Lake Pukaki which again was a pure beauty. We stoppedhere for 15 minutes.

Lake Pukaki

After crossing multiple scenic locations, it was around 8 inthe night when we reached Queenstown. The distance can be covered quickly butour aim was not to cover it but to enjoy it. The stay was planned at Bela Vistahotel.

July 13

We booked for Hot Air balloon. But it got cancelled due tobad weather. No issues. We spent extra hours on bed followed by 6 hours in SPAbath. This was needed after two days of less sleep and a day of drive. Afterthat we went out for a walk around the town. Queenstown has enough to keep someone occupiedand busy for years. We looked around the city, did some shopping, went for alake side walk, enjoyed the view and took a deep breath. It was a relaxing day.

Queenstown

The night at Queenstown

July 14

We took the Shotover Jet, not the dart River

Waiting at Tourist center for the Jet boating

We stepped out of hotel to do something adventurous thatday. Amongst multiple Jet boat rides options, The Shotover Jet looked mostexciting. Near Queenstown, the Shotover River flows in the middle of canyons.The company has very powerful boats to fill up people and give them the ride oftheir life, which on one can forget in this life time. They had a shuttle topick and drop to the city.

Thats Dimple

We came back and again spent out evening in the downtown.Believe me, Queenstown is a place where one can just go and sit doing nothingand still feel so relaxed.

The downtown

July 15
Again, the hot air balloon and paragliding got cancelled due to bad weather. Sowe went to the Skyline Gondola and luge on the top of the hill. Hill topprovides a good view of the Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. The restaurant therecan be a perfect place for dinner. We did not eat there because it was littlebit expensive and full of non-veg items. In short, it was not a good value formoney.

The Queenstown

Dusk at Queenstown

Queenstown from the hill top

Bungy at Queenstown

God saves this guy

The real jump was too scary. This is all I could manage

July 16
This was the day for us to visit the famous Milford Sound.

The other side of Lake Wakatipu. The Drive around the lake was fabulous but tiring. This was our stress buster point

We left the hotelaround 6 in the morning. I was told that the drive takes 5 hours. Our cruisewas at 2 PM. But then we did not want to rush. Again, the drive was veryscenic. However, this section was not as comfortable as the section betweenChristchurch and Queenstown. The road has lots of sharp turns. After crossingTe Anau, there is dense forest on both sides and road was wet. The sectionaround the --- Tunnel was fun but needed special attention and speed control.

Lake Te Anau

First look of Te Anau. We were entering from height. The whole region was covered by clouds

As we reached Te Anau, the surroundings were completelycovered by mist. The town itself is very peaceful. If I have to choose oneplace in New Zealand, Te Anau would be my choice. We took a short break at thetown and then multiple breaks on the road sides.

Lake Te Anau

En Route to Milford Sound

Around 1, we reached the parking at Milford Sound. I steppedout of the car and it took me some time to digest what I was seeing. There werehigh mountains all around standing straight and whatever space is left inbetween is filled with water. Only when my neck started aching, I look down andleft the rest of the view for the cruise itself.

The end of the road to Milford Sound

The Milford Sound

The Milford Sound

The Waterfall at Milford Sound

They take the cruise on the Milford Sound right under the Water fall

Milford Sound

The return of the Cruise to Milford Sound

We ate the lunch and went to the boarding point. Mitre wasthe cruise company. I booked this one because they had the last timing.However, I realized that it gave us another advantage. There cruises weresmall. Real Journeys (which is very famous) have larger vessels. It is more funto be in a small vessel because they can take you close you things and also itis fun when the vessel reaches Tasman sea.

After enjoying the Milford sound, we drove back to Te Anauand stayed there over night at Birchwood Cottages.

July 17

Lake Manapouri: The town and the water were full of piece

This was the day for Doubtful sound. Early in the morning, we drove to ManapouriLake.

Fraser Beach at Lake Manapouri

The day was booked via Real Journeys. They handed over lunch packets tous and the cruise started on the Lake Manapouri. This cruise was followed bythe bus ride of around 45 minutes from the dense Rain forest. Thedriver-cum-guide of the bus kept us busy with his humorous briefing all thetime. On the way there were many beautiful spots. The best of them was the viewof the doubtful sound from the hill top. It looked like a small canal in thebig jungle. Only after reaching to the banks, I realized how huge it is. Therewe boarded another cruise which took us around in the doubtful sound.

Lake Manapouri

Lake Manpouri

Lake Manapouri

Wild Life at Fiordland National Park

First look at Doubtful Sound

The Real Journey tour bus. It takes from the end of the Lake Manapouri to Doubtful sound. The whole region is full of Evergreen Rain Forest. The Driver-cum-guide of the bus is a very interesting person and kept us busy with his jokes-filled-commentary.

Welcome to the Cruise on Doubtful Sound

The Doubtful Sound. The water was so calm....

The Hotel at at the doubtful sound. Fishes are caught here and using an Airplane they are sent to the cities. Next time may be I will stay at this hotel.

The Cruise on Doubtful Sound

One of the many Water Falls on the route to Doubtful sound.

This is how to recognize Tourists

Fiordland National Park: Feels like breathing clouds

A Cup full of Coffee on the Cruise to Doubtful Sound

While coming back we halted at the --- Power station. Thisitself is a wonder in itself. Around 100 years back they made tunnels throughthe mountains to make the water flow from Lake Manapouri to Doubtful sound. Theheight gradient between two water bodies makes the water fall and rotate theturbines. The turbines and the whole power plant is underground.

The external view of the Underground Hydro power plant

The Underground Hydro Power plant

The under ground hydro power plant

Inside view of under ground hydro power plant

We returned to Birchwood cottages and enjoyed food.

Cruise on Lake Manapouri, on the way to Doubtful Sound

July 18
This again was a day for a long scenic drive from Te Anau to Lake Tekapo. NearTekapo, the visibility was very low due to fog. We were driving at 10 KMPH. Thedown was very silent.

July 19
Our Hotel was right in front of Lake Tekapo. We stepped out and noticed that itwas a clear day. The breath taking view of the blue colored water of the Lakewas a perfect sight. We walked aroundthe Dog statue and the famous Church. After eating lunch, we drove to MountJohn. They have a space observatory at the hill top and a café. The view fromthe hill top was enough for a drive to the hill top. I spotted few more lakesfrom the top and decided to go there also. After reaching back to Tekapo,realized that I had forgot my tripod at Mount John. So we drove up back again.

Hotel at Lake Tekapo

The best of Winters at Tekapo

The morning at Tekapo

Tekapo Church

WoW!!!

Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo

Mount John

Space Observatory at Mount John

Lake Tekapo

Lake Alexendrina

It was fun to be at Tekapo

We were not the only one...at Tekapo

Around 3, we started back towards Christchurch. The stay wasplanned at Novotel Christchurch, which is right next to the Church. We roamedaround a little and did some shopping before going to bed.

July 20

We left the hotel early, around in the morning. Reached Airport, parked thecar and took the flight back to Auckland. Then the Thai Airlines flight fromAuckland to Bangkok. The transit time was 9 hours. However, there was so muchto look on the airport that it did not feel like 9 hours. Then the flight fromBangkok to New Delhi from Thai Airways. We were upgraded free to semi-businessclass this time.

The Christchurch

July 21
Volvo from Bikaner house to Jaipur.

Just country side across the inter city roads

On way from Te Anau To Lake Tekapo

Air Show, Aero India, Bengaluru 2009

2009-02-20T04:23:00.000-08:00

Air Show at Bengaluru was organized from 11-15th Feb, 2009.

I visited there on 15th (Sunday). I think it was the most crowded day. Special buses were available from Majestic. Even then it took 2 hours to reach the venue (Yelahanka).

Facilities were bad. I paid INR 400/- for ticket. In my category, the number of chairs were not even 1/10th as compared to the number of visitors. It is a pain for peole with family and kids.

The air show of Sukhoi-30 and C-17 was exciting and would not allow to even blink the eyes.

I had seen many videos on Su-30. But looking it in front of eyes was completely a different experience.
All the pics here, are of SuryaKiran Jet. For me, Su-30 was too fast to capture in the frame. :)

Abhaneri, Dausa, Rajasthan, India

2009-02-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

Destination: Abhaneri, Dausa, Rajasthan, India

Date: Friday 2 Jan 2009

Origin: Jaipur

Mode of Travel: Self Driven Car

From Jaipur to Abhaneri : I took the NH-11 from Jaipur towards Agra. This locally, is known as Agra Road. The road, near Jaipur is loaded with traffic at times. It also passes from the hilly area. So I wasted some time there in traffic Jam. Beyond that, the road is much better and the drive was comfortable. Cross Dausa and Drive further. There will be a Toll Booth and after that there is a left turn from which road diverts for Bandikui. This Crossing is known as Sikandra Chauraha. In case of any confusion, ask any local person for the way to Bandikui. Take the neft turn (towards north).

There is a toll booth again. Tell them specifically that you just want to go till Abhaneri and come back. The cost of toll will be less. By default, they assume that you are going further. Cross the Toll Booth and shortly there will be a small circle on the road. Take a right from there. 1.5 KMs ahead on this road, one can see the Harshat Mata Temple and the Chand Baori.

The Chand Baori (The Great Step well) : There were few folks from ASI and they offered me to give a detailed tour of the place. The name of the person is Mr. Gopi and he was knowledgable about the place. At the end he did not even ask for money. But I gave him a small amount.

In Gopi's words "This place was built sometime in 8th or 9th century by Maharaja Chand. Not only this step well, but there was a whole city at this place. Later there was a flood and the complete city got synced into water and covered by mud. Many centuries later, a traveller from Jaipur convinced the Royal family to dig this place and the result was there. This step well has more than 1000 stairs and while going ip it is very difficult to remeber the path that was taken to to come down. Water used to get collected at the bottom and then there was a whole setup that used to carry the water upwards and used to work as a shower for the king."

Harshat Mata Temple: Royal family used to worship here after taking bath at the step well.

In Gopi's words : "This temple was around 450 feet high and there used to be a lamp on the topmost point of it. An invader was returning after attacking near by places and he saw the light of the lamp. The result was, he attacked this temple, looted it and destryed everything."

The remains of the temples have been decorated in a nice fashion around the temple.

Abhaneri, the Place : It is another example of the perfect rural India. There are many Jugads on the road in this area. I hope, it is clear what a Jugad means. :), if not, see the below pic.

Bhangarh, Alwar, Rajasthan, India

2009-01-30T21:21:00.000-08:00

Destination: Bhangarh, Alwar, Rajasthan, India

Date: Friday 2 Jan 2009

Origin: Jaipur

Mode of Travel: Self Driven Car

From Jaipur to Bhangarh: I took the NH-11 from Jaipur towards Agra. This locally, is known as Agra Road. The road, near Jaipur is loaded with traffic at times. It also passes from the hilly area. So I wasted some time there in traffic Jam. Beyond that, the road is much better and the drive was comfortable. Just before Dosa, there is a left turn towards North. This is NH-11A. Under confusion, ask the local people for the road to Ajabgarh. This road took me to Bhangarh. One has to take a left diversion to reach the place. Boards with proper directions are in place. Local people are also very helpful, in case of any help.

Bhangarh: There is a lot of text on internet which claims that this place is haunted by Ghosts. I went there and didn't find any Ghosts, but yes, the place is scary. The old and huge Banyan trees have something unusual in them. None of the buildings in the front has roofs on them. It is thought provoking that why just the roofs are gone? The walls are still in good shape.

The front entry has a board from ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) which says that domestic animals are not allowed inside. But, the place seems to be a heaven for local shepherds. I talked to one of the shepherds and she told me that the place is very good and very well maintained. Still no body used to come there. So, they rumored the story of Ghosts. Now, the number of visitors have increases but most of the visitors are still young couples who seek some solitaire from the crowded society. :)

The place if well maintained and neat. A big portion has a green lush grass ground. However, there are so many monkeys around that one has to take care while sitting down and relaxing. I touched almost every corner of the place. On the top, I noticed that a sadhu stays there. I was not concerned much so did not care to talk to him. Few of the temples are still live and worshiped.

This place is definitely worth a visit. If someone is passing from Alwar, Agar-Jaipur NH-11 or Dausa, this can be a good destination.

Hampi - Pattadakal - Aihole - Badami, Karnataka, India

2008-12-01T00:30:00.000-08:00

Destination: Vani Vilas Sagar Dam, Hampi, Tungabhadra Dam, Pattadakal, Aihole, Badami,

Date: Friday 28 Nov - Sunday 30 Nov, 2008

Origin: Bangalore

Mode of Travel: Hired Taxi, Toyota Innova.

Leaving Bangalore: We started from Marattahalli, Bangalore at 1120 towards Hampi. I am not listing down the route details because they are already present on Google. In short we followed:

NH - 4 from Bangalore to Tumkur to Chitradurga. Right turn to NH - 13 from there to Hospete. Local roads from there to Hampi.

Vani Vilas Sagar Dam:
## Silent water with green tint
## Huge wall to give a feel of fort
## Peace and silence every where around
## Wind mills on the hill top to add to the scene
...in short an awesome place. We were short of time and hence we were not able to spend much time there. This is place is near to Bangalore and I hope that I would be able to spend a whole weekend there.
Directions:
On NH - 4, there after crossing Hiriyur, there is a over bridge. Beyond that there is a Cemented Gate on left. Also there is a green colored metal bridge over the highway for pedestrians. There are no boards or direction so being watchful helps. Take a left from there.

To Hospete:
It was dark already and there was a huge traffic Jam. Firt we thought that it was something serious but our driver jumped to the lane from which traffic was supposed to come. We noticed some really funny things:
1. One truck got stuck because the key was lost, it was dark and the driver was not able to search that.
2. It was dinner time. So one of the trucker just stopped and was having the food. None of the other truckers complained and all of them were doing the same things. It is so silly that you stop any where on the road and start eating.
3. As this jam was really huge, cars come out of the lane and block the way for the other way. We also did that but there was no other way. If one follows the traffic rules completely, then at least 2 days are required to come out.

Finally, we left our car and started walking. After around 2 KMs we got an auto and hired it for the hotel. The auto driver was another interesting person. He was playing Kannada songs at very high volume. He stopped after some time and spent around a minute to change the music cassette. Later I came to know that they were rain songs from Rajkumar. It was already drizzling so he wanted to play the music according to the mood!!! Just like a king.

We booked at Sanbhag Hotel which is bad so better to keep this place as last resort.

Hampi:
A mesmerizing place!!! We hired a Guide for INR 500/- for whole day. They ask for more but one can negotiate.

Tungabhadra Dam:
I was under impression that this is just another Dam. But it is HUGE. There was water till horizon on one direction. Photography was not allowed here. Looking at the SLRs in our hands, the security guard there warned us. May be the authorities are not aware of the things like Google Earth or they are in habit of following the rules of 1960s blindly.

Badami:
Pattadakal :
Aihole:
We stayed overnight at a not-very-bad hotel at Badami. The town was giving a perfect sight of a typical rural India. In the morning, I borrowed bicycle of one of the Hotel staff and hit the road.

All these three places and not very far off. We covered them the same day. But if one wants to absorb the places, then more time may be needed.

I haven't written much on the places because I think these places deserve much more than the words present in my dictionary. Google is the best place to know the details.

Kumbalgarh Fort, Rajasthan

2008-11-21T23:56:00.000-08:00

Destination: Kumbalgarh Fort, Udaipur

Date: Saturday, 1 Nov 2008.

Origin: Udaipur City

Mode of Travel: Tata Indica

There is already lots of info available on Google about this place. Thus I am not listing anything general but few points:

1. The architecture is amazing. This is another example of the expertize of the people centuries ago who made such forts and palaces which can't be constructed today even with the use of modern machines.
2. There is very less population around the fort. It would have been minimal at the time when this fort was constructed. The fort sits on the top of a very strategic hill. How such a huge amount of raw material was carried to this hill top, is a mystery for me.
3. The engineering and the strength of the fort is marvelous. People say that this fort was never conquered. No doubt in that. Even today, if there is a not-so-skilled army defends the fort, even the best army of the world can't conquer it. The walls are as wide as a two lane road.
4. From the terrace of the Palace, one side there is a beautiful view of hills. On the other side there is flat ground till horizon. Wind flows at high speed.
5. The fort has been maintained good. Many places, there are old remains which give very good feel.

One day travel to Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan

2008-11-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

Destination: Sambhar Lake, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Date: Sunday, Oct 26, 2008.

Origin: Jaipur City

End: Jaipur City

Group: I traveled alone in a small car, Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo.

Location: Sambhar town and lake are in Jaipur district but far from the main Jaipur city.

From Jaipur City to Sambhar Lake:

1. Started from the Civil Lines crossing on the NH-8 (Jaipur Ajmer road) towards south-west @0415.

2. At 19.5 KMs met toll booth. The cost at the time of travel was INR 65/- for one way. Same amount was charged while returning also. I did not mind paying this amount because the road was excellent. It was a six lane smooth highway. At morning time there was no traffic so I was able to drive as a fast as I could.

3. At 62 KM turn to west of north (right). This place is called Dudu. There is an over bridge on the crossing for the traffic that want to go straight. Better to not to take this bridge otherwise one has to take a U turn. In doubt, ask anyone for the road to Sambhar.

4. At 77 KM there was a Y turn. One road was going straight while one was going to right. I got confused here but finally found a board which directed me to take a right turn. Little bit ahead there is Nariana Village. After that there is railway track. It was still dark and I was little bit confused about the way.

5. This portion of drive was great. There were no light and the sky was dark and clear. The moon was looking beautiful with the mystical stars. These many stars are hardly seen from polluted city sky.

[Far off View of the Shakambari Devi Temple and the hill. This is a perfect example of Mirage. The reflection is not in the water!!!]

6. At 112 KM take a left turn (west), just before the railway crossing. This turned has been marked in wikimapia (http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=26.8974441&lon=75.1869965&z=17&l=0&m=h&v=2). One has to drive 24 KM on this road to reach the Shakambari Devi temple. This road also goes to Core-seina Village but ends at the temple.
Just after this turn, there is railway track on right. This is part of the factory where salt is made. This place reminded on of some old black and white movies. There were so many abandoned railway carriages while were lying freely. The best part was there, there was no one around and I had a deep inspecting of the place.

At Sambhar Lake:

I parked my car at the temple. There was no one around. Was able to see a single chambered temple on the lake surface. Walked there and came to know that it is 'Bahiron Baba' Temple. Came back to my car, took my bag with water and eatables with me and started to climb the hill. The temple of the Shakambari Devi is at the base of this hill. Hill climb was easy and there is a resting place on top. See the pic, I do not know what it is called.

[Bhairon baba temple on the lake surface and the never-ending end]

Now I was looking at the extra-extra-extra-ordinary place. I had seen such a place only in the pics of moon. I could not had believed that such a place can even exist on earth. This place seems to be the end of earth. One can easily see the demarcation line for earth. There was green land just on my back. On my front, left and right there was just flat, white, reflecting surface. I tried hard to see the end with my naked eyes, but failed. I stared for sometime and felt that I can feel the roundness of earth. After that I took out my 300mm zoom lens. On Nikon 40x, it worked as 450mm. I was able to see uncountable number of red and white colored birds on one side. On the other side, I was not able to see the end even at 450mm end. Man, this place is amaaaaazzzzziiiingggg!!!

There was whole army of ants which tried to spoil my food but I was fast enough to change the location. I spent some time on the hill top and then decided to walk on the lake surface. On the bank, there was typical desert vegetation. I got many thrones on my lower. It is better to be in an outfit which does not take these thrones. After doing the painful job of removing these thrones, I started to walk. I was not able to see the horizon. I walked, walked and walked for an hour. I was not having anything to measure but in an hour I must have covered at least 4 KMs. I was still not able to see the end. But I came to the point where I was able to see the water and the surface was moist after this point. I did not want to dirty my legs in the mud and I was also getting over with the drinking water. Hence, I decided to return. I tried to capture birds at 450mm zoom but still, I was just able to take a glimpse of them. On my left, there was no end and sky was meeting the earth.

[I walked to this point. I was sitting at the top of the hill an hour back. These two pics shows the view from my back and front]

Lunch time:

I moved back and drove to Sambhar town. On the way, there was a family which was waiting for a public vehicle. They asked me for lift and I got agreed.

At Sambhar town, I had the lunch at 'Yadav Pavitra Bhojnalaya'. Do not expect much at this place. But the taste of the food was awesome. It was still just 1300 and I had to wait till sunset. I drove to the road to Shakambari Devi temple, parked the car under a tree and took a nice nap. After two hours I got up and as soon as I moved the car, I realized that something has hit the car. Damn, it was a big stone under the engine which had lifted the left tire in the air. These are the stones used by village people to sit and wait for the vehicles. I took out the jack and removed the stone. When I got up, I had already taken a bath in sand. I drove further and saw a small lake. I washed my self there. Waited sometime under the peeple tree on the pavement and then moved ahead again toward the Temple.

Drive on the Lake:

This time, around 1 KM before temple, I saw a way to get in the lake. This way is made by trucks and tractors. I moved my car off road and followed this. Just after 100m, I was again on that never ending flat white surface. This was great experience to drive. One can drive as fast as his vehicle and heart allows. There is no one, absolutely on one, around you to even see and stop. I drove to the other side of the hill and waited there for the sun to be set. It was still 1630 and there was around 90 mins left for sunset. In sometime I realized this place is getting scary. There is just flat surface till horizon and then there is nothing on it. Not even a small insect. The wind has enough power to throw all the obstacles to the bank. Suddenly I heard a dog bark and I got more scared. But I was not able to see any dog in the directing from which the sound was coming. I again used my zoom lens and I was able to see a dog far off. The thing is, because there is no obstacle, even is there is small sound somewhere, it can be heard KMs far off.

Then it was the time for sunset. It was a great experience to see sun syncing exactly in side the earth. I had never seen sun syncing like this. The sky was not very colorful because there were no clouds around.

Sun disappeared and I drove my car back to the same way from which I came. On the drive to home, I was just thinking about this life time place. Another example that there is so much to see and there is so much of variation on the earth. The traffic was more on NH-8 on the return journey as compared to morning 4 O'clock. It took me 3 hours to return back.

Ways to reach :
1. By road - Follow the path that I took. Jaipur (NH-8) <->Dudu <-> Naraina <-> Sambhar. The Rajasthan roadways buses can also be taken from Jaipur to Sambhar. I say a bud on the way to Core-seina. However, I do not know where that bus was going.
2. By train - Train from Jaipur to Phulera takes just 45 mins. After that Sambhar is not more than 10 KMs. This is an excellent option.

Few Points:
1. Carry enough water with you because you may not find shops selling packed water.
2. One can easily see the glimpse of the rural India here. There are many villages on the road from Sambhar to Shakambari Devi Temple. I saw women carrying water vessels on their head from the same water body where the animals were taking bath on the other side. After some time children jumped inside the water to take a bath. Old men were sitting under the tree shadow and smoking 'beedi'. I wish I could become invisible and keep seeing this life style for some time. The people were little bit consious to see a guy from some city in a car.
3. This is a MUST GO place before leaving this world and I am glad that I was there.

Sakleshpur Railway Line Trek

2008-10-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Destination : Sakleshpur Railway Line Trek

Date : Oct 2 - Oct 4, 2008

Origin : Bangalore

End : Bangalore

Group : 4

From Bangalore to Sakleshpur :

1. We boarded a bus from the Platform No. 4, Majestic Bus Stand, Bangalore at 0500 hours. Ticket cost was INR 75/- per head.

2. Reached Sakleshpur at 1000 hours. The journey till Hassan was fast. But the bus halted there for 30 mins and the route after that was from hills.

3. From the Sakleshpur KSRTC Bus stand we walked on the NH-48 towards Bangalore for 5 minutes to reach Surabhi Restaurant. This is good place to have breakfast. 4. After that we take the mud road, just next to the Surabhi Restaurant(I have marked this place on wikimapia) towards Sakleshpur railway Station. 10 minutes walk took us to the station(I have marked this place on wikimapia) but this was a big mistake. We were sent back from there by the Railway Authorities. The officer over there was egoistic and was teaching us the rules and regulations. Thus, never start the trek from the Sakleshpur Railway Station.

Sakleshpur to Donigal :

1. We walked back to the BM road(MH-48) and took a Jeep for the Donigal Railway Station. These Jeeps are normal medium to commute on these hilly areas. The cost was INR 15/- per head.

2. Pointers for Donigal Station: There will be a small bridge on the BM Road (NH-48). Just after that there is a tea stall on east. Get down here from your vehicle. Just in front of this stall there is a muddy path going up hill towards south. Walk on this path for 10 minutes to reach the Donigal Railway Station(I have marked this place on wikimapia). Note that Donigal Railway Station is not abandoned any more. There were Railway employees and operations were going on. These employees were very friendly and they encouraged us to carry on the trek. They told that a group of 15 trekkers has left the place in 0800 in the morning. They also gave us a lot of other useful info.

The Trek:

1. There are yellow colored boards on the whole of the trek every 100m. They are showing the distance in (KiloMeter/Meter) format. Donigal has the mark of 50/000.

2. We left Donigal at 1130 hours. We were slow because of lots of photography and a not-so-strong member in the team.

3. At 58/000 there is Kadagarahalli Railway Station. This is a newly inaugurated station and no where mentioned in the earlier blogs. If you have the sleeping bag/mat then it is easy to spend night here on the corner room. Obviously, carry the food for the whole trek because getting it on the way is difficult.

4. Next Morning (Oct 3) we left Kadagarahalli at 0630 hours and reached Yedakumarei which is at 67/200. This is a beautiful place and it is rewarding to spend time here.

5. After that we walked to Aryabhatta Railway Station which is at 75/100 mark. This station is also no where mentioned. This is under construction and yet to be inaugurated. We spend our second night here. The people here gave us a separate room.

6. Next morning (Oct 4) we left Aryabhatta at 0700 hours. We had to end our trek here. We asked the people at Aryabhatta for the way to reach the BM Road (NH-48). The road was visible from the station but it was not possible to fly.

7. Between 79/400 and 79/500 there is a bridge. Before that bridge there is a path on right going downhill. Take this path. From here the real fun started. Till now the trek was easy because we were just walking on the stones for the last 29 KMs. It became monotonous. This path was risky so be cautious in that.

8. Keep moving downhill. Sometimes a visible path was there. Other times one has to use his/her own skills to move ahead. We were in fact following the passage created by a water stream. Water was not flowing at that time. After some time we met a muddy path crossing this stream perpendicularly. This path is wide enough for the jeeps to pass on it and was created for the transfer of goods to the Aryabhatta Railway station back in time.

9. Take left on this path and keep walking to reach a small village. We did a big mistake of going right. We kept walking and after getting nothing we descended to the river. We thought that we will meet a bridge from where we can hit the road. But we were wrong. It was very tough and dangerous to keep jumping over the rocks. After some distance there was no way to move ahead. We also had a thought to cross the river. But that was also very dangerous. We sat for sometime and decided to move back to the muddy path from where we descended to stream. Suddenly we saw two people from the near-by village who were going for work. They noticed our shoe mark on the mud and followed us. They suspected that we have lost in that Jungle. I was amazed by the sharpness of these people. They led us to the muddy path again. So remember, after reaching to the muddy path from the Rail Line, take a left. 10. We kept walking on the path and reached a village. People at the village guided us to main road and we reached Gundya Check Post.

Back to Bangalore:

1. We ate dosa at a small restaurant at Gundya Checkpost and then took a bus directly back to Bangalore. The ticket cost this time was INR 225/-. The bus was deluxe and hence the higher cost.

2. We reached Bangalore at 2000 hours.

Some Personal notes:

1. On the blogs, people projected this trek as very good. I found it an average trek. It was monotonous all the time due to walking on the same stones along the Railway Line. Many times I felt that the places around Bangalore are over rated. People work in IT Industry in this Silicon City and they highlight the small things as 100 times more on there blogs. Many other places are simply awesome bus less mentioned on the web.

2. Safe way to cross Bridges: First let one person to cross the bridge. When he/she reaches the other end then others should cross. One person should stay back to watch any train coming from back. This technique helped us on a long bridge when a train came from back. I shouted loud to inform other who were on the middle of the bridge. They managed to run and take position on the side platform.

3. The platforms on the bridge are old without proper support. So better to not to reply on them. One has to have a strong heart to keep standing on them when the whole bridge is shaking due to train vibrations.

4. 99% of the times the bridges have a metal sheet installed on the bridges which make it easy to walk on the bridges.

5. Make sure to carry torches for the tunnels. Just after entering the tunnel one should check the sides and decide that on which side he/she is going to move if the train comes. We met train three times when we were in the tunnel. It was great experience. I can not forget the vibrations in my ears due to the sound of trains. It was as if someone is drilling on my ear drums.

6. At some of the Railway Stations people were talking as if they can arrange food for us if we pay them. We carried the food and thus were not in need of any help. However, this can be treated as a last resort.

7. Never trek with people whom you do not know well. I was not knowing anyone else in the group. There was one member who can quoting himself as a great trekker. He praised himself for every damn thing in this world. He was not listening to others in the group. Later I came to know that neither he was physically fit nor he was aware of basics of trekking. Another member, who was his friend also, told that this guy is like this during all the treks and never listen to others. I did not mind his carp behavior because he helped us also many times. But just keep this point in mind.

Lakhaniya Dari - One of those where water falls on you!!!

2008-08-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

Destination - Lakhaniya Dari

Note - All the pics shown here are from my earlier trip when the water was less. I wrote this blog after a trip when the monsoon was at its heights.

Date - Saturday, August 16, 2008.

Origin - Vanarasi

End - Varanasi

Group Size - 5 (YV, Amit, Prashant, Anbalagan and myself )

Lakhaniya Dari - A breathtaking water fall near the ancient city, Varanasi. This is among those very few water falls where you are the bottom and the water falls on you. This fact increases the excitement hundred times. At the final destination, you will be surrounded by rocky walls from three directions and exactly in front of you water will be falling from a height of more than 80 m. The small drops of water carried by air will touch your face and soon you will realize that why people wish for heaven? It is not a place where you get down from your vehicle and have the view. You have to walk 2-3 KMs over stones, mud, rocks and water to reach the final destination. Do not worry! The whole path is less than long and more than short.

Lets reach there from BHU main gate, Lanka. Face the BHU gate and take left (towards east) from there. The road is not good so be prepared for the fun. After some time, you have to take a right. First right turn is the route which hits the main highway where you will meet the Toll Plaza. The guys there may ask you pay something between INR 50-100. This is not a good option because you will not be using that highway for more than 5 minutes. So do not take that first right turn and take the route from the “Samai Ghat” to reach the by-pass. You can ask the local people “the way to reach the Ram Nagar Bridge – By Pass via Samai Ghat”. See the map below which is taken from wikimapia.org. Click on the image to enlarge it.

This highway is part of the road network of Golden Quadrilateral in India but you will be using this just for crossing the river Ganges. Just after the bridge gets over, there is a road on the left going down the road. Take that road and then a right under the By Pass. This is NH - 7. See the map below. Click on the image to enlarge it.

This road is generally good except the rainy season. Drive carefully because children from villages and people on bicycles my come to your way many times.

After few KMs you will reach Narayan Pura and there will be a V turn. Take a left from there. There should be a board indicating the direction. Do not hesitate to ask from local people in case of confusion. Just after taking this way you will cross a double track electrified rail way and a water canal near by. This is the confirmation that you are on right track. See the map below. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Note: At the time of writing, wikimapia.org was not having the road beyond this point in its map. So choose the "Hybrid" and "All Places" options in it and then enlarge it atleadt up to 4th level to get some idea.

Now the road is straight. After driving for around 30 KMs you will reach hilly roads. Slow down there because you are not far off from your destination. You will see lake on you left and then some mountains beyond that. This view is gorgeous and you would love to take snaps. But take care from wild animals if you want to go far off from the road.

Little bit ahead you will see a small bridge on road. On left there will be water falling down the rocks. There is also a yellow colored board on left mentioning “Lakhaniya Dari” in Hindi. This is the place you can park your vehicle.

Start walking now with the Jungle rule – Follow the water stream. Remember that you have to go up stream. You should be able to find many local people around. They come here, cook their food and have fun. It is a nice picnic place for them.

After walking some distance you will reach mud and then the rocks. Take caution while walking on the rocks because they are very slippery. There is no hard and fast way to reach the final fall. But you should be able to find the way made by earlier travelers. During rainy season the water level is really high and then you have to use your own intelligence because all the normal ways gets covered by water.

Last time when I went there, we had to cross the stream two times and the water reached up to waist level. I suggest to get in side the water in spite of getting high on the rocks. The water is not deep and you can take support of rocks with some effort. On the other hand, if you slip down from the rocks then you can get your bones fractured. As you move ahead, the place will get covered by more and more dense trees. The light reaching the land will reduce and air flow will decrease. In some time you should be able to feel the sound of falling water and there you are!!!

Enjoy the place!!! You can reach behind the falling water also. Take extreme caution and walk over the rocks from the right and reach behind the falling water. This place gives you some movie kind of feeling. You are sitting inside a small cave sort of place and water is flowing in front of you and then beyond that there is the whole world. The below pic shows this.

Avoid to take a dip in water at this place. The water is very deep and rocks are mysterious. My senior at BHU lost his life there. Every year there are cases when people get in to water and then never come back. So if you want to get into water, walk some distance down stream and then do what ever you want.

Eat and Drink - You will not find much to eat around. At the place of parking there is a small tea stall. You call also find some packed biscuits there. However, on the road from Narayan Pura you will find many Dhaba. On an earlier trip, I enjoyed paratha over there and they were delicious. Its good to carry water bottles with you if you are not fine with the open water served at eating places. There are many beer shops available on the path way. But again, avoid to walk on the rocks until your mind is in 100% normal state.

Bicycle on Bengaluru (Bangalore) roads

2008-08-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

While roaming on the terrace, I was looking to do something new in life (as usual). This time I aimed for a bicycle. So I did some basic googling and without much exposure to this field I went to Arcot Srinivasachar street, City Market, Bangalore.

The bicycle Market here: I feel that this is basically a selling market and dealers do not care much about servicing. They have got old shops and may not be able to give you demo because most of the cycles are packed and disassembled. But I asked them and they gave me 4 demos by taking the pain of assembling the bicycles. The roads are jammed so one cannot think of test ride. I got the demos because I was going to spend good amount. This market is definitely cheaper than the fancy and exotic showrooms which might be available in Bangalore.

I got this model, AVON Jockey. A short review of it follows.

http://www.avoncycles.com/boys-bicycle-display.asp?id=285

I paid INR 6300/- for it.

It has aluminum body which makes it very easy to carry in elevator to my flat at seventh floor. It is very handy to carry in hands during traffic jams, red lights, country side etc. Whenever I go to M. G. Road, whole of the road is blocked by the Metro Rail Project and rest by long cars. I was very comfortable to carry my bicycle in hands and then to walk on footpath. There was another model from Hero with almost same specification but with Iron Body. That was 2000 less in cost. I think I made the right decision to pay more to the seller.

It has got front and rear shockers. I feel that this makes ride very comfortable and won't hurt you at wrong places. At this time I can not say about the longevity of these shockers. May be I will add that after a year.

It has got 18 gears. I strongly suggest to get a bicycle with gears if you want to make the ride a fun and not a burden. Gears will make your ride little bit easier on ups and make you fast on downs. But, frankly speaking, I do not see a need of 18 gears(at least in city). May be 6 or 12 are enough. I got 18 because because it is not possible to customize this machine according to your need. :)

Personal Experience:
# It is good(not great) bicycle.
# The ride is smooth and the shockers are good.
# Gear transition is smooth and they never got stuck.
# It has got front and rear long metal mud-guards. These days most of the geared cycles are having either no or short mud-guards. These are made up of plastic. In city , you won't be doing the stunts as a mountain biker. So when the roads are wet, these long mud-guards save you from the road dirt that flies off with the rotating wheel. This was the unique feature in all the models that I considered.
# The pedal has very good metal grip. Due to this your feet will never slip from it when you are applying break or crossing a bumper in speed.
# The rod under the seat is not long. So, if we want to raise the seat to a higher level, you may need to change the whole section.
# Brakes are cantilever type with rubber shoes. I would prefer disc brakes. But for that, one has to put in more money.

Recently, I got a speedometer/odometer installed. It cost me 350/- bucks. I purchased this from Raja Cycle Mart. There is a good mechanic, Lalloo. I got the reference from another blogger. I went there and the experience was good.

Directions for Raja Cycle Mart: Reach to townhall and start moving to City Market. Hardly moving 20 meters, on left you can see this shop.

Check out wikimapia. I marked this there
http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=12.9633878&lon=77.5843763&z=17&l=0&m=h&v=2

Many times people ask me about my experience on Bangalore roads. They say that the traffic is terrific and how safe is it? For all of these people, I have following words:

I use Cab to commute to office and I felt that two wheeler drivers are quite unsafe on roads. After roaming around on bicycle, I realized that the condition was not that bad which I *assumed* earlier. I noticed that people are sort of good to bicycle riders. Then one day I went to Office on my bicycle. I stay at Koramangala and Office is 11 KMs from my home. The route is (Sony World-Jagsandhara-Agara-Sarjapur Junction-Marattahalli). I leave my home around 7 in morning and leave office at 4 in evening.

My view got changed when I tried it myself. I know, the safest bet is to get in side a car. But except that I think bicycles are good to move around the city.

While raining, its very tough to ride bicycle because there is no motor inside and its all your muscles. I prefer to wait at some place. This can be treated as a limitation. :)

I still use Cabs but jump over to my bicycle around 2-3 days a week depending upon weather and schedule. :) Believe me, the time difference is just of 10 minutes one way!!!

So this is how I had a view some time back and now it got changed when I tried it on my own. :)

Points for getting on bicycle:
1. Fun
2. Healthy
3. Cheap
4. No Pollution

So, believe me. Borrow a bicycle from a kid around your place for some time and give it a try. For the first few times, you will feel strong pain in your knees. If this pain disappears and the riding becomes fun for you, go and grab your own bike.

Happy Cycling!!!

Bangalore - Belur - Halebidu - Shravanabelagola - Bangalore

2008-07-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

Destinations: Belur, Halebidu, Shravanabelagola (India)

Date: Saturday, July 19, 2008.

Origin: Bangalore (India)

End: Bangalore

Group Size: 5 (Chandra, Milan, Ramesh, Simon and myself)

Route:
1. Started from Marattahalli, Outer Ring Road, Bangalore.
2. Headed north towards K R Puram.
3. The road take a left on its own and then took a right from the fly over towards Channasandra.
4. Passed Nagawara Lake and Hebbal Lake.
5. Crossed a crowded railway crossing where road is narrow.
6. Joined NH-4.

7. Headed to Nelamangala. A big part of this road was under construction.
8. Took a left from there on NH-48. One can easily see the directions for Belur and Mangalore on that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NH-48

9. Passed Kunigal - Yediyur - Hirisave - Channarayapatna - Hassan
10. Just before Hassan, took the bypass. This saved us from the city traffic. There is a three way and one can take a straight rather than a right to take this by-pass.
11. Followed SH-57 to reach Belur.
12. Took SH-58 to reach Halebidu and then to hit NH-206.
13. From Arsikere, took a right to leave NH-206 and then came to NH-48 again.
14. Then took SH-8 to reach Shravanabelagola finally again NH-48 to return to Bangalore.

Vehicle used: Maruti Suzuki SX4.

Destinations:
I am not going to write about these places because huge text is already available on Internet. I am just adding some personal observations.

Neither entry nor camera fee was collected at any of these places. This was really surprising to me.
There was a 20m long bridge in between and then there was a funny toll booth after that. Chandra told that this was built 10 years back by the people of the local village and they are still collecting the toll. How long? No one knows... Do not worry, it was just INR 7/-. :)

Belur:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennakesava_Temple

When I entered the place it was not looking that great to me. Then we hired a guide and he really invoked the interest. The architecture was obviously excellent but the way that guide put up all the history in front of us was very impressive. He was a knowledgeable person and explained us that how this temple is different from others.

Halebidu:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysaleswara_temple
We went to three temples at Halebidu. Hoysaleshwara Temple, Kedareshwara Temple and Jain Temple (this may not be the official name).
On the Hoysaleshwara Temple you can easily notice the uncompleted work due to the attack from other kings. There is a lake near to this temple and many beautiful landscapes around. This temple was not so properly maintained as the compared to the temple at Belur.
About the other two temples, we were the only people visiting those places. I liked the Jain Temple a lot. The pillars of that temple were polished so finely that you can see your image in them. If you hit them with your nail, they will generate sounds. This was really surprizing to see that a stone pillar was generating the sound just like metal pillars. Another proof of the presence of unbeatable technology at that time.

Shravanabelagola:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shravanabelagola

Chennai - Pondicherry - Chennai

2008-07-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

Destination: Pondicherry

Date: Sunday-Monday, 6-7 April, 2008

Origin: Chennai

End: Chennai

Group Size: 5 (Anurag, Chandan, Gaurav, Vivek and myself)

Route: There are two routes from Chennai to Pondicherry. We took the ECR (Eastern Coast Road). The road is straight and there are no major crossing to get lost.

Stay: We stayed for just one night. For that we rented an elevated hut just 100m from the coast. These huts are cheap and a different kind of experience.